Month: July 2016

In the 16th century there was a growing trend in social mobility with a merchant class rapidly emerging. This meant that for the first time there was a vein of English society that could afford to import luxurious and expensive cloth, materials, jewels and finished goods from abroad. As these items were previously only accessible…

Historian David Starkey and Anne Boleyn’s biographer Eric Ives both state that Henry VIII’s romantic interest in Anne Boleyn began in earnest during the winter of 1524/25. According to George Cavendish who was a Gentleman Usher of Cardinal Wolsey the King was engaged at this time in a ‘secret passion, not known to any person’….

In the 16th century it was customary for royal ladies and members of the nobility to have their own prayer books. They were commonly referred to as a book of hours. The quality and opulence of these manuscripts was dependant on the rank and wealth of the owner. A book of hours owned by a…

In last week’s blog I explored how Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon’s daughter Mary Tudor was affected by her parent’s martial breakdown and the King’s eventual marriage to Anne Boleyn. Much has been made of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in particular being responsible for Mary’s frequent bouts of stress related ill health….

Princess Mary Tudor (later Mary I of England) was the daughter and only surviving child of Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon’s 24-year marriage. She was styled and titled Princess Mary up until the Archbishop of Canterbury; Thomas Cranmer declared her parent’s marriage invalid in May 1533. After this date her mother, previously…